


What is in me, in place of me

by Polyhexian



Category: It Follows (2014), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Human AU, M/M, POV Third Person, Pining, This Is Some Weird Shit, it follows AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:41:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28750860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polyhexian/pseuds/Polyhexian
Summary: "You make him happy," Brainstorm murmured eventually, so quietly that Rewind at first thought he was imagining it, "And that makes me happy." Rewind was silent. "I hope we never find your real boyfriend," Brainstorm added, his voice sharp-edged.Rewind was silent.
Relationships: Brainstorm/Chromedome (Transformers), Chromedome/Rewind (Transformers)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

**Author's Note:**

> HI I saw It Follows for the first time last week and fell in love. what a good spooky movie. anyway because i am what i am i immediately was taking by a dumbass cdrwstorm it follows au. this wont make sense if you havent seen the movie i think. honestly? still might not make sense. im stupid. thanks for reading!
> 
> oh uhhhh also i guess warning for themes of sexual violence, thats like, what the movie is about and the theme continues here obviously. but you should still know in advance

Rewind sat up, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. The camper shook around him as it moved, a sensation that had once made him ill. Now he only found it comforting, along with the pale gold light streaming through the front windshield and through the hall.

He turned back to where Chromedome was still sleeping in the fold-out beside him, expression softening. It had been a stressful week, one with too many stops and for too long. Chromedome was always exhausted whenever they stopped for groceries, too emotionally drained to stay up long. Rewind left him to sleep in hopefully a little longer, and trailed a steadying hand along the wall as he stumbled to the front to flip into the passenger seat with a huff.

"G'morning," Brainstorm chirped, as infuriatingly cheerful as ever. Rewind snorted a response. "Sleep well?"

"Well as ever," Rewind mumbled, eyeing a traffic sign as it passed overhead, "Where are we?" 

"Somewhere around Polyhex, I think," Brainstorm mumbled, as if he really had to think about it. "How's CD?"

"Still asleep," Rewind told him, and did not fail to notice the way the driver perked up. "Getting some rest for once."

"Good, good," Brainstorm murmured absently, eyes locked on the road.

Rewind regarded him quietly, trying to keep his expression neutral. He never quite knew how he felt about this man who had indisputably become a significant part of his life somehow. He was integral to their system, to their own survival, and it wasn't like he'd ever been _unkind_ to him, and yet- something about him always set Rewind off. He wasn't sure what it was, could never quite put his finger on it, but there was _something_ he didn't like about this man. Not to mention he was clearly pining for Rewind's boyfriend, and that irritated him enough not to need any other reason to dislike him.

"Do you want me to take over?" Rewind asked.

"In an hour or so," Brainstorm replied, "I'm listening to an audiobook."

"What book?"

"Dostoevsky's _The Idiot_ ," Brainstorm informed him, "But I can change it if you want."

"No, no," Rewind said quickly. They'd long ago decided the driver had God-like control over the radio, and he wasn't going to break that most sacred of rules. "I'll listen with you."

"Alright," Brainstorm said, and turned the dial back up.

* * *

"Do you see that woman?" Rewind asked, stiffening. Brainstorm barely glanced behind himself and then back to his sandwich, leaning casually on his elbows across the table.

"Yes," he answered nonchalantly, food in his mouth. Rewind frowned at him, irritated at how dismissive he was. Always was. He had his suspicions the man _wanted_ It to take him. 

"How much longer are we here for?" Chromedome asked, sitting down with his own gas station sandwich and swinging a leg over the picnic table bench. 

"Like half an hour," Brainstorm told him, "I just need the wifi a little longer to finish transferring the data."

"One of these days my travel vlogs are going to take off," Rewind commented, "And then you can quit that awful job."

"Why would I quit?" Brainstorm asked, cocking an eyebrow at him, "I like writing papers."

"Because you're writing _other people's_ papers!" Rewind huffed, "It's just so... scummy!"

Brainstorm snorted. "More scummy than siccing a fuck demon on a stranger?" 

"I only _suggested_ it!" Rewind snapped, "I never _did_ it! I just think we should keep our options open and always consider every possibility!" 

"Uh-huh."

"Can we please not do this?" Chromedome pleaded, "At least while we aren't driving."

"Sure," Brainstorm replied easily, biting into his lunch. Rewind grimaced at him, but returned to his own food, lost in thought.

* * *

Chromedome's lips against his were soft, yielding as always. The man melted under his touch like butter, every time, unable to resist his own gentle heart, and Rewind was loathe to deny him all the attention he craved, firmly seated in his lap, hands under his shirt.

"Do you ever wonder if this changes our positions on the list?" Chromedome asked, looking up at him with his big blue eyes, shifting his waist to rut their erections together. With the divider pulled shut across the hallway it flooded the back of the camper in darkness that made it hard to see.

"Yeah," Rewind admitted, "But I've lost count. And I don't know if oral counts. I don't know which of us is on top."

Chromedome cracked a rare smile. "I'd say you're on top, right now."

Rewind tittered with startled laughter and leaned down to press their lips together again, palming between his legs, and wondered if Brainstorm was listening. Part of him hoped he was, was internalizing yet again that he might be Chromedome's best friend, his oldest friend, but _Rewind_ was his boyfriend. He'd lost, and Rewind hoped one day that would _sink in._

* * *

Rewind woke regretfully. Even with the divider pulled, he knew it was still the middle of the night. Still Chromedome's shift.

He rolled over and set about going back to sleep, when he heard Brainstorm's voice over the sound of his laptop keyboard. 

"We're running out of petty cash again," the man said quietly, "I just don't get a lot of work in the summer…"

"We'll figure something out," Chromedome murmured, "We always figure something out, right?"

"Right."

There was a long pause, before Chromedome spoke again. "Do you really hate Rewind that much?"

Rewind was wide awake now, straining to listen.

"What makes you think I hate him?"

"You act like you hate him."

"I don't hate him," Brainstorm said, the clacking of his keyboard relentless, " _He_ hates _me._ "

"He doesn't hate you!" Chromedome argued, and Rewind felt a knot of guilt in his gut, "You know how he is. He's just… volatile. He's suspicious. He has every right to be."

"I agree," Brainstorm replied, "He seems… good… for you."

"I feel like saying that nearly made you sick."

"I'm being serious!" Brainstorm insisted, the sound of typing coming to a halt, "I don't… he's fine. I like him. And I'm glad you're happy."

"I _am_ happy," Chromedome told him, his voice sounding pleading, "For the first time in a long time, Storm."

"Yeah," Brainstorm sighed, "I know."

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence, and then Rewind heard him snap his laptop shut and stand. He quickly scrunched his eyes shut and laid still as Brainstorm pulled the divider aside and then back before he threw his jacket on the floor and rolled into the fold out behind him, their backs pressed together. Rewind fought to keep his breathing even, to not give away that he had been eavesdropping.

"You make him happy," Brainstorm murmured eventually, so quietly that Rewind at first thought he was imagining it, "And that makes me happy." Rewind was silent. "I hope we never find your real boyfriend," Brainstorm added, his voice sharp-edged.

Rewind was silent.

* * *

Rewind was not looking at Brainstorm at the time. He was looking at the road, because he was driving and that was what you did when you were driving, but Brainstorm's soft gasp drew his gaze to the passenger seat.

"What?" he inquired.

Brainstorm's eyes flicked up toward him for only a moment, before they returned to the screen, his hands hovering over the keyboard. Rewind couldn't be certain, but he almost thought they were _trembling._

"It's nothing," Brainstorm dismissed, his voice barely a whisper, but his eyes were wide. Rewind frowned.

"Seriously, what is it?" he insisted.

Brainstorm began typing rapidly. "Something I've been researching," he mumbled under his breath, "I've had a breakthrough."

Rewind frowned. "For a paper?"

"Yeah," said Brainstorm, without looking up, "For a paper."

* * *

Brainstorm had been strange lately. Well, stranger than usual, anyway.

He'd been much nicer to Rewind, for one thing, and far too quiet, for another. Rewind found his sudden change in behaviour bizarre and suspicious, though he had no idea what it was he suspected him of. 

"Are we in Iacon?" Chromedome asked, leaning over the front seat to peer at the road signs over the interstate.

"Not yet," Brainstorm responded.

"What are we going to Iacon for?" Rewind inquired, feet kicked up on the dash. 

"Why not?" Brainstorm said vaguely, "It doesn't matter where we go. As long as we just keep moving all the time, the destination isn't important."

"Yeah, but Iacon is a traffic nightmare. Why are we going into Iacon proper?" Rewind insisted. Brainstorm's gaze flickered to him, and for just a moment, he saw something in his eyes he didn't recognize. 

"Made a deal online," Brainstorm replied, "Craigslist, you know. Won't take long."

Rewind eyed him suspiciously. "Alright."

* * *

Rewind was sitting on the hood of the camper while Brainstorm fiddled with the gas pump. He eyed Chromedome through the convenience store window, gathering up more food in his arms by himself. 

"Do you think we can pass It to each other?" Rewind asked suddenly, and Brainstorm glanced over at him.

"Hm?"

"You know. Back and forth," Rewind elaborated, "Or do I just have It, and that's it?"

"I don't know," Brainstorm said, looking back at what he was doing, "I think probably the latter, but it's not like we know the rules. If there _are_ any rules."

Rewind was quiet for a moment, mulling it over. "You think we should let It catch up- just enough to find out?"

"No."

Rewind snorted. "That was decisive."

"It's your _life,_ " Brainstorm explained, "It's not worth the risk just to know."

"That's easy for you to say," Rewind sighed, " _You_ don't have It. I can't even describe the stress of _knowing_ It's coming for you."

"I'm not the one who tracked someone down with It with the _express purpose_ of catching It," Brainstorm grumbled. 

"I had to!" Rewind snapped, "Dominus already got It and took off, It's already a part of my life- I just can't _see_ it. Aren't you glad Domey isn't first on the list anymore?"

Brainstorm was silent a moment and Rewind looked back at him, prompting a silent question.

"Yeah," Brainstorm said eventually, "In any case. We just keep moving, and it will be fine. It won't catch up. And maybe, someday, we'll find out what happened to your ex."

"Or we'll find _him,_ " Rewind corrected sharply.

They both looked up when they heard the door chime as Chromedome stepped outside, holding plastic bags of food and waving. 

"Hope so," Brainstorm told him.

* * *

"You should let me give you road head," Rewind said suddenly, head in his arms on the dashboard. Chromedome lit up red as a tomato, expression spiraling into embarrassment. 

"Rewind!" he hissed, and Rewind giggled at his priceless reaction. 

"Brainstorm's asleep," Rewind reminded him, smirking mischievously. Chromedome stubbornly kept his eyes on the road, rolling his fingers against the steering wheel anxiously. 

"You'll get us both killed," he snapped.

"Aw, we're running for our lives anyway, aren't we?" Rewind teased, "Live a little."

"No way," Chromedome huffed assertively, "I plan on dying as an old man who's done way too much driving. _You_ can die in a horribly embarrassing car accident with your dick out if you want. _No_ thank you."

Rewind laughed and sat back, kicking his feet up on the dashboard. "It's a nice day out, at least. Definitely worse days to die." 

"There's no good day to die," Chromedome huffed. 

Rewind chucked, watching the lazy Sunday interstate traffic in front of them with a smile. "Man," he sighed, "I'm glad it was you."

"Glad what was me?" 

"That it was you It was after," Rewind explained, and then paused, "Well, not glad It was after you, but glad when I met the person it was after that it was you."

Chromedome hummed laughter. "I understand."

"I think my parents still think I killed him," Rewind said quietly, gaze unbroken. 

"I don't think you could kill anyone," Chromedome said after a moment of hesitation.

Rewind made a face and set his chin in his hand, leaning against the window. "Maybe not."

"Just maybe?" Chromedome probed. Rewind hummed a thoughtful sound and narrowed his eyes.

"Just maybe," he repeated eventually, "I don't know. Just maybe."

Chromedome softened and then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I get that." He switched lanes, watching the traffic move around them like sludge. "I used to think- maybe. More than maybe. But it-" he screwed up his expression, fighting himself to finish his thought, "It's too much to live with."

"Hey," Rewind said, sitting up, worried, "Hey, Domey, it's okay. We don't have to go there."

"I know," Chromedome answered. Rewind frowned unhappily and glanced around before settling on the radio. 

He grabbed a CD from the center console and pushed it into the player, turning up the volume knob and glancing at his partner expectantly. The dulcet vocals of Lord Huron drifted from the old speakers, and finally the blonde cracked a smile and glanced over at him.

"You can't bribe me with good music," he smirked, making it clear he'd already been won over, mood improving.

* * *

When Rewind woke it was because he felt the camper stopping. 

He blinked and rubbed his bleary eyes, sitting up. Chromedome shifted beside him, mumbling.

"What is it?" he asked. Rewind stretched and rolled off the fold-out onto his feet.

"Dunno. I'll go check." 

Rewind pulled the divider back and frowned when he saw the driver's seat empty. He crossed to the front and looked around, but the engine was off and Brainstorm wasn't there. The door was open. 

"What did we stop for?" Chromedome asked, sitting up. Rewind turned back toward him and shrugged.

"I dunno. To take a leak, maybe?"

"Without telling someone?" 

Rewind shrugged again and grabbed a sweatshirt and sneakers, before popping the door open and leaning outside to glance around. It was dark, the middle of the night and the middle of nowhere, on the side of the road by sprawling farmland. Cows milled aimlessly about in the distance. 

"Brainstorm!" Rewind called, but nothing answered him. He frowned, and stepped all the way out, crossing to the other side of the camper. He didn't see anything there either.

"What's going on?" Chromedome asked, appearing beside him. Rewind gave him an incredulous look.

"I have no idea-" he turned back to walk down the road some, inspecting some foliage, "He's just _gone!_ "

"That doesn't make any sense!" Chromedome exclaimed, following behind him.

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but it-"

They both stopped and turned when they heard the engine roar to life and the headlights came on, bathing them in blinding light. 

Chromedome got to the door first, but it wouldn't open and he banged a fist against it.

"Storm, what the fuck!" he yelled.

"I'll leave the camper for you in town somewhere," Brainstorm yelled back through the door, "Call an Uber or something."

"My phone is _in_ the camper!" Chromedome snapped, "You're going to get us killed!"

Bizarrely, Brainstorm laughed. "Nah. You'll be fine."

With that, he floored it, and the two of them had to jump back away from the vehicle as it tore off into the night, leaving them stranded.

Rewind hadn't known he could feel so angry. He'd been mad before, but he'd never been _this_ mad. It was bubbling up under his skin and between his grit teeth and clenched fists but before he spoke he turned to look at Chromedome. 

He didn't look mad. He looked devastated. Chromedome looked like the world had been yanked out from under him and left him spinning in zero gravity, like the earth had kept turning without him. Rewind shook his head, stomping down his fury into the bottom of his throat.

"He didn't even fucking say goodbye," Rewind seethed, before he grabbed Chromedome's hand. "Don't worry. Idiot forgot something really important."

"Oh, yeah?" Chromedome sniffled, staring off in the distance where the camper was disappearing, "And what's that?"

"That I've never trusted him," Rewind said dryly, "I put a GPS tracker on his phone two years ago."


	2. By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown

Brainstorm parked the camper a few blocks away in a pay-by-the-hour lot. He usually avoided these like the plague, but it didn't really matter now.

He stopped by a store on the corner, a 24-7 type place, and grabbed a bottle of off-brand vodka that he took a swig of as soon as he stepped back outside. The street was empty other than him, and the sound of his old sneakers on the pavement echoed off the nearby buildings in the evening stillness. 

It was the end of the line. 

Brainstorm had always thought it would take longer to get here. He assumed it would take decades to find another person with It, not less than one. Fate had a funny way of rewarding him in the worst possible ways. He took another swig of vodka and looked up at the black night sky devoid of stars over the light polluted skies of Iacon.

He was going to die here, under this starless sky. 

The last time he had been sure he was going to die he had been under that same starless sky. But that had been years ago, and he'd been too much of a coward to go through with it then, even if he'd deserved it. 

Brainstorm arrived at Maccadam's with an empty bottle that he trashed outside. The inside of the old bar was warm, familiar, softly-lit and full of music and people. He eyed the crowd before he saw the face he was looking for and slid in across from him in his booth.

"Hugh?" Brainstorm inquired. The other man smiled warmly back at him, responding to what Brainstorm already knew wasn't his name.

"Genitus, right?" the stranger replied. Brainstorm nodded and the stranger waved for a drink. 

"Oh, none for me, thanks," Brainstorm chuckled, "I don't drink."

"And yet you wanted to meet at a bar!" Hugh chuckled.

"Me and this place go way back," Brainstorm told him, "I'd rather meet someone I met online somewhere I feel safe first, you know?" 

Hugh took a martini from the server and sipped it with a mischievous grin. "I can understand that. You never know, when you meet people, right? Could be an axe murderer."

"Exactly," Brainstorm nodded, "But I can see you now. And I think I'm a pretty good judge of character. You wanna get out of here?"

Hugh's eyes lit up. "My place or yours?"

"Oh, my place works," Brainstorm replied. Hugh finished his drink and slammed the glass back on the table. 

Brainstorm stood up, the ice-cold weight of the 9mm in his waistband pressing against his lower back.

* * *

"This is insane," Chromedome hissed, pacing back and forth on the side of the road, glancing around in paranoia.

"As long as the Uber gets here before It does, we'll be fine," Rewind replied, scanning the horizon with far more care than his nervous partner was. 

"What is he _thinking?!_ " Chromedome continued, itching at the inside of his wrist. A nervous habit. 

"I don't know, but I think I'm going to kill him," Rewind snapped. 

"I don't get it," Chromedome insisted, "It's not _like_ him. Brainstorm's my _friend._ "

"Yeah, maybe he _was_ ," Rewind replied, feeling angry, "Maybe he finally got sick of third wheeling. It's not like he _had_ to be with us anyway, _he_ doesn't even have It!" 

"You don't believe in him because you don't like him!" Chromedome yelled back, "And you never have! If he left because he didn't feel wanted, it's not because of me, it's because of you!"

Rewind scoffed and reeled back. "Is that so?"

"Brainstorm _knows_ I care about him!" Chromedome insisted, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes, "Do you have any idea how many times he offered to take It from me before we met?!"

"Yeah, because he wanted to fuck you!" Rewind yelled back, "He still does! That's why _he_ hated _me_ first!"

"So what?!" Chromedome cried, throwing his face into his hands. He was about to respond again, when they both noticed the approach of distant headlights as the Uber closed in on them, and they resigned themselves to smoldering silence.

* * *

"Let us out here," Rewind said, patting the driver's seat, "the app covers the fee, right? We're good?"

"You're good," said the driver, "Good luck."

Rewind waited for Chromedome to slide out first before he followed him, and looked back down at his phone as the car drove away.

"We have to walk from here," he explained, "driving around is too fast for the GPS to orient."

"Yeah, yeah," Chromedome mumbled. His eyes were glazed over, the despair clearly beginning to take hold. Rewind frowned.

"Domey," he said, waving a hand in front of his face, "Stay with me, babe. I need you focused. We're down a set of eyes. It could have caught up."

"Right," Chromedome replied, refocusing, "I know. I know." He glanced around before turning back to Rewind. "Promise me you'll hear him out when we catch him, won't you?" 

"I can't imagine an explanation he could come up with that could possibly justify leaving us for dead," Rewind responded dryly. 

"He might have one," Chromedome insisted, "You don't _know._ "

"You're too trusting, Domey," Rewind sighed, exasperated, "I know you've known him long enough to know that he's a _liar._ "

Rewind turned quickly on one heel, eyes on his phone screen. Chromedome snapped to follow him.

"So what if he lies!" Chromedome argued, "That doesn't mean he's not _trustworthy!_ "

"That's exactly what it means, Domey."

"No," Chromedome insisted, "He's a liar but- he would never betray me. Us. Never."

"You have more faith than I do," Rewind mumbled, and looked up. "It should be around here."

"Oh, God," Chromedome whispered suddenly, and Rewind spun around, "It's here."

"What?!" Rewind cried, "Where?!"

"Right there!" Chromedome exclaimed, pointing. Rewind followed his gaze and saw nothing. 

"I don't understand," he said, confusion blooming through his thoughts, "I don't see anything."

Chromedome flinched and then looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I don't see It!" Rewind repeated in shock, "I don't see anything!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Chromedome gasped, "I gave It to you! You have to be able to see It!" 

"What does It look like?" Rewind asked.

"It- It looks like you," Chromedome breathed, and took a step back. "It's coming this way."

Rewind turned, looking at the parking lot across the street. The camper sat innocently in the middle, and he grabbed Chromedome's hand.

"Come on!" 

He made a break for it, pulling the man he loved along with him. When he reached the camper he slammed his free fist against the door.

"Brainstorm!" he yelled, "I know you're in there! Open the door!"

"I can't," Brainstorm's voice said from within. He sounded tired, hollow, defeated somehow. 

"Yes, you can!" Rewind snapped, "It's here! Let us in!"

"It's here?" Brainstorm asked softly.

"Yes!"

"How would you know?" Brainstorm chuckled wearily, "You can't see It."

Rewind froze. "What?"

"Rewind!" Chromedome snapped, tightening his grip on his hand and pulling him away, "Come on!"

"Brainstorm, you piece of shit!" Rewind snapped, but let himself be dragged away. Chromedome stumbled a few steps before he stopped, staring.

"What?" Rewind asked. 

"It's…" Chromedome screwed up his face in confusion, "It stopped."

"What do you mean It stopped?" Rewind balked.

"I mean it… stopped," Chromedome repeated, "Outside the camper. It's just standing there."

"What's it doing?"

"It's waiting," said Brainstorm's voice from inside. Rewind looked at the door, where It was apparently standing, and then jogged around the camper to the driver's side door. It wasn't locked.

"Brainstorm, what the _fuck_ is going o-" Rewind halted as he hauled himself up and past the front seat, staring down the length of the camper.

"What?" Chromedome asked, following behind him. He fell silent.

"You don't want to be here for this," Brainstorm said hoarsely, holding his handgun steady where it pointed at the stranger's forehead. 

"Storm, what have you done?" Chromedome breathed.

"Nothing yet," he responded.

"I wouldn't say it's nothing," said the stranger, face twitching.

"Be quiet," Brainstorm snapped.

"What are you gonna do?" the other man groused, "Shoot me?"

"I will," Brainstorm told him, "I have to."

"We've been sitting here for an _hour,_ " the man said, glancing at the two intruders, "He's not gonna do it."

"I don't know what's going on," Rewind said, shaking his head, "Who is this? Why did you run off? Why can't I see It? Why is It just _standing_ there? Brainstorm, what's going _on?_ "

Brainstorm was silent for a long time, the four of them tense. Rewind felt suddenly like he was in a room full of strangers.

"It's waiting," Brainstorm said faintly, "because I figured out what It wants."

"It wants to kill me!" Rewind exclaimed, "What else does It want?!"

"It doesn't want you," Brainstorm told him, "It never did."

"What?"

"Chromedome couldn't give It to you," Brainstorm said softly, "He'd already given It to me."

"What?!" Rewind cried, and startled when he realized Chromedome had yelled the same thing. 

"No, I didn't!" Chromedome insisted, "I wouldn't have!'

"I know," Brainstorm replied, without turning around, "Not on purpose, anyway. But you didn't stop drinking until you met Rewind, you know."

Chromedome twitched. "Oh."

"You asked me to take It," Brainstorm whispered, " _Begged_ me. I knew you were blackout drunk and I shouldn't have let you talk me into it, but I did. You were just so _sad._ " His voice broke.

"I don't remember that," Chromedome said, his grip on the back of the driver's seat tightening, "I don't remember that at all…"

"I know," Brainstorm murmured, "You didn't remember, and I knew you didn't want to. It's not completely altruistic, though," he added, "I'm a fucking coward and I never wanted to admit that- that I-"

"I didn't want to give It to you because I didn't want you to die!" Chromedome interrupted him, "I couldn't live with myself knowing I cursed you!"

"You didn't mind cursing Rewind."

"I barely knew him at the time!" Chromedome gasped and Rewind frowned. "Don't act like you took advantage of me, when that wasn't even the reason I wouldn't-"

"It doesn't matter," Brainstorm interjected, "It's too late now. You really should go."

"It's not going to work," the stranger quipped suddenly, "Your plan is insane. We're all going to die and it's not going to be for anything."

Brainstorm glanced out the windows on both sides of the camper. "No, it's going to work," he said, "They're waiting. I was right- I know what they want."

"What are you doing?" Rewind implored, "They?"

Brainstorm smiled wearily. "Yeah. It's not the only one. There's others. And this guy," Brainstorm said, turning back to the stranger, " _This_ guy didn't have any problem passing It on to me without even a word of warning about what he'd done." 

"Passing it… to you…" Chromedome repeated.

"It's not personal!" the stranger insisted, "It's just survival! It got done to me just the same!"

"That doesn't make it right!" Brainstorm snarled, "The line ends with me! Both of them! I'm not giving It to _anyone else_!"

"They're both outside now," the stranger whispered, "We should drive away. We can all still get out of here if we just move before they do."

"No," Brainstorm said sternly. "No more. All I have to do is kill _you_ , and that's it. Then I've got both of them."

"What's the point of that?!" Rewind balked.

"The point," Brainstorm rasped, "Is that I know what they _want_. They want a _challenge._ They play by these rules, but they don't _have_ to. I've seen them- I've seen them break the rules when they want to, but they don't usually want to. It's a game. They like the chase. And I figured out the one thing they've never been able to chase before: each other." He swallowed thickly. "So I kill him, and they're both on me. And then one of them gets me, and that puts the other on them."

Rewind was silent. "There's no way that works."

"They're both outside," Brainstorm said, "Waiting. They could just come in. They don't want to. They want me to finish. It's going to work."

"Storm…" Chromedome whispered brokenly, "You'll die. _Horribly._ "

"I'll die," Brainstorm repeated, "Horribly. But I'll be the _last one who does._ " It came out as a snarl, his arm snapping up as he stepped forward, pressing the barrel of the 9mm to the stranger's forehead. He scrunched his eyes shut in sudden alarm. "And then it will leave _you_ alone. You can go back to your life, CD."

"Oh, God," Chromedome cracked, "Storm, you can't. You can't do this. I don't want you to do this! I don't want my old life if it means losing you to get it!"

"So what?" Brainstorm snapped, "Why should I care what you want? How many times have you said you wouldn't give It to me for my own good, like I don't know what I'm asking? How come you get to decide what's good for me, and I don't get to do it to you?" He paused, panting, "Because if that wasn't the reason, if you really were just sick of me, you could have just said that. You could have cut me loose ages ago. I would have understood. You don't even need me anymore."

"Of course I need you," Chromedome whispered, hurt.

"Please," said Brainstorm, "Please, just _go._ "

"Don't!" implored the stranger.

"Shut up!" 

"Don't do this," Rewind found himself saying, "Life on the road isn't so bad, Stormy. It's better than dying."

"I'm not afraid to die," Brainstorm insisted hoarsely, and his hand finally trembled, "I don't _want_ to, but I'm not afraid. This is the right thing to do."

"It's murder," the stranger snapped.

" _You_ happily set a fuck demon after me!" Brainstorm retorted, "How is _that_ not murder? I know I'm not the first person you've pulled this gambit on. You've got a _system._ I've been following for you for _months._ "

"Everybody dies," the stranger rasped, his jaw set, frightened eyes furrowed in defiance, "I want to _live._ I've done what I had to. I didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice," Brainstorm hissed, and tensed, pressing the barrel hard against the stranger's temple with shaking palms, his body rigid. "Always."


	3. Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

A long beat passed of excruciating silence, before he spoke.

"I can't," Brainstorm whispered brokenly. The tension drained out of his body as if it were water. His knees buckled and he crumpled downward like a broken toy, arms falling to his sides as he dropped the weapon to the floor. "I can't do it."

On both sides of the camper there were a series of sudden _boom_ s and the vehicle rocked violently as if struck. The stranger made eye contact with Rewind and then dove for the gun.

"No!" Rewind cried, and followed him, knocking Brainstorm out of the way. The camper shook again and Chromedome grabbed for the door he'd come in through, yanking it shut as it began to open.

"Drive!" Rewind yelled, grappling with the other man while Brainstorm pushed himself back and away along the floor. Chromedome fumbled for the keys on the dash with his free hand not holding the door shut and fought to get it into the ignition, before he slammed his foot down on the gas.

The camper lurched forward with a shriek, sending Rewind and the other man toppling over to slam against the wall. 

Chromedome was still holding the door shut even as the camper careened forward, jerking side to side erratically. Rewind kicked the gun under the fold-out as he took a right hook to the face with a grunt. The driver's side door suddenly tore itself off its hinges and Chromedome swore loudly, reared back and kicked hard into the open space. 

He cried out in pain as his leg visibly twisted and snapped and he fell back against the wheel, sending the camper spinning out of control, it's occupants tumbling into the centrifugal force as it flattened them to whatever wall they slammed into first, the entire vehicle threatening to flip over at any second.

It finally came to a stop when it hit another car and threw everyone to the floor, dazed and disoriented.

The stranger was the first to recover, stumbling to his knees and then to his feet as he shoved Rewind out of the way and burst from the camper door, bolting into the street.

Brainstorm pushed himself to his elbows, shaking the vertigo from his eyes as he looked up at where Rewind was laying on his side.

"Get up," he mumbled, "Get up. It's coming. You have to go." 

Rewind grabbed the seat and hefted himself up, clinging to an armrest for dear life. "Go…" he murmured vaguely, and then turned quickly to look back at the front seat. "Chromedome!"

Chromedome grunted wordlessly in response, collapsed over the steering wheel. 

"You have to _go_ " Brainstorm insisted, sitting up, "It's coming for me."

"It broke my leg," Chromedome wheezed through grit teeth, "I can't run."

Brainstorm struggled to his feet, and then stumbled, grabbing his head where he'd hit it on the floor. "I'll go then. It's after me. But you have to- you have to move, in case the other one gets Hugh, you're next. You have to keep moving." 

"You idiot!" Rewind yelled suddenly, heaving himself up with sudden vigor to grab Brainstorm by the front of his shirt and yank his face down to his. "We are _not_ leaving you to die! That's _not_ how we do things! Haven't you figured that out yet?!"

"Storm," Chromedome rasped, "Come on. I need you." 

Brainstorm hesitated, expression defeated, before he swallowed, nodded, and grabbed Rewind's arm, helping haul him to his feet. He looked out the back window. 

"It's coming," he said simply, "But It's still walking."

"I can limp faster than it can walk," Chromedome hissed, and Brainstorm turned and grabbed one of his arms, pulling it over his shoulder and leading him out the door. 

"I know," Brainstorm told him, "Let's go."

* * *

Rewind looked up from his phone when he noticed Chromedome stir beside him. Blue eyes blinked open and glanced up at him, weary. 

"Hang on, babe, I'll grab you another hydrocodone," Rewind said hurriedly, fumbling with the center console to grab a pill bottle and the half-filled dasani beside it.

"Thanks," Chromedome mumbled.

"How's your leg?" 

"Broken."

Rewind grimaced. "Would it shock you if I said I would have guessed that?"

Chromedome gave him a dour look in response and popped a hydrocodone.

Rewind glanced at the backseat of the junker they'd blown $300 on where Brainstorm was passed out, laying on his side completely still, like a corpse. He looked back at the road, dark and misted over in the wee hours of the morning, chewing his lip.

"He's been asleep for ten hours," Rewind murmured, "Do you think he's alright?"

Chromedome tilted his head toward the backseat, looking at his friend through the corner of his eye. His expression softened.

"No," he said finally.

"What _was_ that?" Rewind asked, "Some kind of elaborate suicide attempt?"

"I think… maybe," Chromedome murmured. "I don't know. I feel like I don't know him at all suddenly."

"I feel like, in hindsight, this makes a lot of sense, actually," Rewind sighed, "You were right. He's a liar, but he's not untrustworthy. You know him better than you think."

"Hm," Chromedome hummed softly. "Well. Now we're being followed by a thing only _one_ of us can see."

"Unless that other guy eats it," Rewind added, "Then we're just being followed by _two_ things."

Chromedome looked out the window and watched the wheat fields roll by for a moment. "You know now- you don't have It. You aren't infected at all."

"Yeah," Rewind swallowed. 

"That means," Chromedome said, hesitantly, without turning from his window, facing away, "You can… quit, you know. You aren't running from anything. You can… stop." 

"What?" Rewind grabbed his shoulder and turned him back around to face him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Chromedome's lips twitched and he set his jaw, swallowing hard. "No?" 

"No," Rewind repeated firmly, "It's you and me, Domey." He paused, gaze flicking to the man in the backseat. "And Brainstorm, I guess." 

Chromedome cracked a weak smile. "Oh, I'm worth putting up with him, huh?"

Rewind scoffed, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I guess he's not… that bad. He's just an asshole." 

"We're all assholes," Brainstorm muttered without moving, still facing the backseat. Rewind and Chromedome both perked up at his voice.

"How long have you been up?" Chromedome asked, sounding concerned.

Brainstorm shrugged noncommittally.

"How are you feeling?" Rewind inquired.

"Like I failed a really humiliating suicide attempt and now I have to live with the consequences," Brainstorm croaked, "So, bad."

Chromedome grimaced. "I'm… glad you failed, anyway."

"Because I couldn't do it," Brainstorm spat, "I couldn't just _pull_ the trigger."

"I don't think not being able to kill someone is a character flaw," Rewind added.

"He passes on a fuck demon to strangers knowing it will kill them without warning them just to buy himself a little more time," Brainstorm snapped, "He's practically a rapist and a serial killer. He deserved to get killed."

Rewind chewed his lip. "You might be right. But even if he deserved to get killed, that doesn't mean it had to be you that killed him."

"But it could have been," Brainstorm whispered, shifting inward, "I could have ended it. I could have saved _everyone._ "

"You're included in everyone, Storm," Chromedome reminded him, "If we live long enough to outlive everyone else in the chain, there won't be anyone left for it to target. That plan works too."

Brainstorm was quiet.

Rewind sighed through his nose, shoulders sinking as he kneaded the steering wheel. "Stormy…"

"Don't pretend you like me now," Brainstorm interrupted, "I don't want your pity."

"Well," Rewind answered, setting his jaw, "You've got it. And it's not an insult- I misjudged you and I feel bad. And that's just how it is."

"What, you don't think I'm a selfish lovesick manipulator anymore?" Brainstorm asked bitterly, "You aren't still desperate to leave me at the next gas station we stop at and never see me again?" 

Rewind glanced beside him to find Chromedome watching him intently. "No," he said slowly, "I'm… listen. I know I can be- kind of abrasive sometimes." He shifted his grip on the wheel uncomfortably, fidgeting in his seat. "I'm no good at apologies. But I'm sorry I've been a dick to you."

Chromedome sagged in relief that made Rewind's chest feel warm. 

"...Yeah," replied Brainstorm softly, "Same."

Rewind nodded firmly. "This junker isn't gonna last too long. We'll have to replace it soon."

"It sucks anyway," Brainstorm replied, "It smells like feet."

"What, you been sniffing feet lately?" Rewind scoffed, "You got a good reference point?"

"Maybe so," Brainstorm quipped back, "What, the furry has room to judge?"

"It was a _passing interest_!" Rewind hissed, face heating up. 

"We'll figure it out," Chromedome said, tittering with laughter, "We've been in bad ways before."

Brainstorm sat up, shifting to grab the seat belt and click in. "At least you grabbed my laptop."

"I'm not stupid," Rewind scoffed, "That's the money machine. I'd leave you behind before leaving that."

"I'm sorry, do _you_ plan on writing twenty undergrad essays on T.S. Elliot this year?"

"He's right," Rewind sighed dramatically, "I guess we have to keep you."

"I'd say so," Chromedome echoed fondly. 

Brainstorm leaned back, kicking his knees up against the back of the driver's seat as he leaned against the door. "I guess you're stuck with me."

"Guess so," Rewind repeated.


End file.
